Researchers are using listening devices and cameras at three Minnesota solar farms to learn how planting native grasses and flowers benefits birds, bees and other wildlife.
Argonne National Laboratory, an Illinois-based research center funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, has been collecting data at solar farms owned by Enel Green Power in Mankato and Atwater since 2018. A solar-and-battery facility owned by Connexus Energy in Ramsey was added in 2020.
Using microphones and motion-activated cameras, Argonne researchers are tracking visits by birds and wildlife to measure biodiversity at each solar farm.
“We're trying to get data from all different kinds of sites that have planted different seed mixes, or some that haven't really planted at all, that just have grasses growing on the site,” said Heidi Hartmann, program manager of land resources and energy policy at Argonne.
The data they gather could help federal officials develop better practices for managing vegetation on solar farms to provide ecological benefits, as Minnesota and the U.S. shift away from fossil fuels to cleaner sources of energy.
The Department of Energy estimates at least 10 million acres of solar production will be needed across the U.S. by 2050 to achieve zero-carbon goals.
“If we can do it in a way that also benefits the environment, that's going to be key,” Hartmann said.
Tracking birds, bees and other critters
Argonne researchers visit each site every two weeks throughout July and August. They follow 100-foot lines called transects, recording all blooming plants and pollinators that they see.
On a hot, sunny day in July, Hartmann hiked between long rows of solar panels at the Ramsey Renewable Station, pausing when a colorful flower or insect caught her eye.
“Oh, that's a beautiful bumblebee,” she said. The insect was perched on a spikey, purple flower called leadplant growing abundantly amid the solar arrays.
“There's quite a bit of it here, and apparently the bees like it,” Hartmann said.
At the far end of the row, Hartmann found what she was looking for: a tripod equipped with a motion-activated camera that captures images of any critters that happen to crawl, scurry or fly by.
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